Today Prince Louis celebrated a milestone as he attended his first ever royal engagement. The 5-year-old got stuck in alongside dad Prince William as he manned a digger as part of a day of volunteering to celebrate his grandfather King Charles' Coronation.
As well as being an extra Bank Holiday, Monday May 8 also marks the Big Help Out - a day where people across the country are being encouraged to volunteer and help local communities and good causes. King Charles and Queen Camilla are not participating themselves, but Prince William, wife Kate Middleton and their three children have all been getting their hands dirty at 3rd Upton Scouts Hut in Slough to assist in renovating and improving the building.
The Royal engagement is a first for Prince Louis - who was forced to miss the huge celebrative concert last night due to his young age. The family helped with tasks including resetting a path, digging a new soakaway, sanding and revarnishing the front door, adding planters to the front of the building and adding a mural to create a lasting legacy of the Big Help Out’s work. Kate has been joint president of the Scouts since 2020.
Louis, wearing his trademark shorts, sat in his father's lap as William operated a digger and moved the mechanical arm to grab a bucket full of soil before dumping it on a spoil heap. It came after seeing big brother, George, nine, have a go and telling his mother: ‘I want to go in with him!’
The children set to work straight away with the Scouts with Charlotte and Louis helping to paint a planter and George joining his father with some drilling. The two youngest children knelt down, grabbing brushes dripping with white masonry paint, obvious to the fact that they were getting it on their hair and bare legs.
One fellow volunteer asked Louis: "You might want to be a painter when you grow up?" But he responded: "No a fighter pilot." "Just like your father and grandfather!" the lady replied.
At one point, Charlotte told her brother: "You've got paint in your hair! Louis, look at me! Look at me!" "Yes Louis, look at Charlotte", the adult volunteer said. Louis seemed supremely unbothered. "You've got to wipe it,’ Charlotte gently admonished him.
Meanwhile William and George both wielded drills on a wooden planter. George, dressed in chinos, trainers and a puffer coat, was the picture of concentration as he placed a screw carefully into a hole and drilled it in.
Kate wandered over to her eldest son and asked him: "Have you ever used a drill before? It’s quite satisfying. How are you getting on George?", who pointed out to his mother what he was doing. Afterwards it was time for a little fun, with the children each given the chance to have a go at archery. Charlotte proved a natural, scoring a bullseye first time..
Little Louis, whose bow was a big as him, also showed he has inherited his parents’ sportiness, hitting the target as well. He loved it so much that he kept on running back to pick up his arrows and and having another go, hitting the target several times.
George, to the rear, scored several direct hits himself before having a mini competition with his mother and father. "Mummy, come and look at me," Charlotte also called to Kate proudly. Louis was insistent on loading his arrow in the bow by himself as much as he can.
He then started looking round for the princess to show her what he had done. "Mamma!" he said. Kate was obviously in demand. "Mummy are you going to come and see me?" George called out to her.
Before they left it was time to toast some marshmallows, Louis excitedly high-fiving a group of other children as he did. The children were each given a wooden stick with sweet treats on it and held them over a brazier. "Is that getting warm," asked Kate, as Louis put his hand over his face as the smoke started to sting his eyes.
"I like mine just like this!" he declared and started pulling the marshmallows off enthusiastically with his teeth. He held his arm up in air and tried to grab another one off his mother, popping his spent stick in the fire.
His eyes lit up when he was handed a ‘smore’ - a marshmallow with chocolate sandwiched been two biscuits. "What do you say?" encouraged Kate. "You've made his day!" interjected William. "We won’t hear a peep out of him."
Louis staggered about jokingly and rolled his head in delight, knocking into his sister. The family then spent some time away from the media chatting with volunteers before a low-key departure, reports the Mirror.
William and Kate's decision to bring their young family was kept secret until they arrived in order minimise any fuss for the youngsters who are being slowly introduced to the idea of public engagements . The family were also insistent that the children get "properly stuck in" and lend a hand - which they certainly did.
The 3rd Upton Scouts Hut was built in 1982 and is used by a variety of community groups in the area, including the local mosque, a senior citizens contact group for members of the Asian community and the Scout group themselves. The building is also used by ‘Slough All Nations,’ a group with heritage spanning across St. Kitts & Nevis, and which provides recreation and leisure activities to improve health and wellbeing and promote community cohesion.
King Charles and Queen Camilla will not be appearing publicly today – the day of the Big Help Out, which is billed as a lasting volunteering legacy to mark Charles' crowning. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh Sophie and Edward are taking part in a puppy class at the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association Training Centre in Reading.
Meanwhile, Princess Anne and husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence attended a County Civic Service recognising local volunteers at Gloucester Cathedral. The Big Help Out day is organised by The Together Coalition and partners such as The Scouts, the Royal Voluntary Service and faith groups from across the United Kingdom.
It will highlight the positive impact volunteering has on communities and will encourage people to try volunteering for themselves to create a lasting legacy.
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